Our new Indie Games subforum is now open for business in G&T. Go and check it out, you might land a code for a free game. If you're developing an indie game and want to post about it, follow these directions. If you don't, he'll break your legs! Hahaha! Seriously though.

Our rules have been updated and given their own forum. Go and look at them! They are nice, and there may be new ones that you didn't know about! Hooray for rules! Hooray for The System! Hooray for Conforming!

Looking to buy a new mouse. Wireless or Bluetooth?

I just got a brand new Macbook and am looking to match the purchase with a new mouse. I can't choose from wireless or bluetooth, though, much less which specific model to buy.

Bluetooth seems the most appealing because it frees up one more USB port on my Macbook, which doesn't have many to spare. I've read about dropped connections, however, and that they're more of a problem when there are wi-fi signals around. There are a ton of wireless signals in and near my apartment and I use wireless internet myself, so this seems like a deal breaker.

Wireless with a dongle would seem a good choice in lieu of Bluetooth, then, but only if I'm not going to be losing the signal very frequently. Otherwise I might as well just go wired again, or wait until Bluetooth mice improve.

Right now I'm looking at the Kensington Ci75m chiefly because I like the look of it and it offers a wire in case I find myself without batteries. The Kensington Si670m is what I'm looking at in the Bluetooth area, but I'm not particularly partial to it.

It's only a problem when batteries get low or die, or if you're a hardcore gamer. Missing a headshot because your mouse decided, at that moment, to send a slightly jittery signal is enough to swear off bluetooth forever. On the other hand, if you don't twitch game, bluetooth is great. My trackball is bluetooth and I definitely enjoy it; I've also heard good things about the Mighty Mouse's bluetooth signal. The Microsoft line of mice w/ bluetooth are cheapest, but are also the crappiest -- they eat through batteries and the signal isn't the best. Those two things may be related. My wife had an MS bluetooth mouse and gave up after a few months, going back to wired.

ya, I have a bluetooth kb/mouse at work, never once had a signal drop on the mouse.

What brand is it?

the set I use at work is the Logitech MX1000 desktop. It has a keyboard and mouse, so it doesnt' really apply to you. I was just pointing out that in my experience, I've never had a bluetooth mouse drop the connection on me.

I used to play WoW a lot. One of our tanks had a wireless mouse. It was not at all uncommon to have have him do something utterly retarded, causing a wipe, and then hear over Vent "Sorry all, my fault, mouse batteries died." Happened roughly once a month, I'd say. The only time I will ever use a wireless mouse is in a scenario where the cord would really be a problem, like for the HTPC in my living room. But a computer at a desk? Wired mouse all the way. If you're really sold on a wireless mouse though, I'd say stay away from Bluetooth. In addition to wireless networks, you could also potentially get interference with Bluetooth from microwave ovens and 2.4GHz cordless phones, all of which use the same range of the spectrum. None of those 3 should conflict with the non-Bluetooth wireless mouse.

Bluetooth speaks loudly and carries a small stick. I got it once for wireless gaming on my HDTV. My range was well within the specs of the standard, yet I had numerous drops and lag. To be honest, I noticed very little difference from that and standard wireless performance.

Some of my friends have used wireless mice right on their desk to great success in FPS, but in general for games I stick to a wire.

If you don't game, you'd only notice it if you're drawing a lot of things in, say Illustrator or something. And that's only when the batteries get dead. The Logitechs, Apples, and some of the smaller manufacturers do a fine job with battery management, sleeping the device when not in use. Microsoft doesn't, so it eats through the batteries faster (resulting in more annoying drops while you want to wait just a few more minutes before swapping the batteries).

I used to play WoW a lot. One of our tanks had a wireless mouse. It was not at all uncommon to have have him do something utterly retarded, causing a wipe, and then hear over Vent "Sorry all, my fault, mouse batteries died." Happened roughly once a month, I'd say. The only time I will ever use a wireless mouse is in a scenario where the cord would really be a problem, like for the HTPC in my living room. But a computer at a desk? Wired mouse all the way. If you're really sold on a wireless mouse though, I'd say stay away from Bluetooth. In addition to wireless networks, you could also potentially get interference with Bluetooth from microwave ovens and 2.4GHz cordless phones, all of which use the same range of the spectrum. None of those 3 should conflict with the non-Bluetooth wireless mouse.

I have a Logitech G7, and I kid you not, it is the best mouse I have ever owned. When your battery gets close to dead, you swap it for the second one, and can be back mousing away in about 4 seconds. All you need is a *good* wireless mouse. If you have a good one the difference between wired and wireless is so small that no human will be able to tell the difference.